THE PRESENT INVENTION relates to a support device for supporting a substantially vertical pole. Such a pole may, for instance, be the stem of a plant, the trunk of a tree, the central pole or trunk of a Christmas tree, the central pole or tube housing the pole of an umbrella or the shaft of a rotary clothes line. Thus in this specification the word pole is used with a very broad meaning.
It is known to provide support to the stems of plants such as tomatoes, cucumbers, runner beans etc., and to support saplings throughout their early stages of growth.
A commonly used method of supporting plant stems is to use lengths of bamboo cane inserted vertically into the ground next to the plant, and to loosely tie the stem of the plant to the cane in stages as the plant grows. A variety of means such as string, metal rings or plastic tie wraps may be used for this purpose. However, a common problem when using such bamboo canes, is that they provide only limited support in windy conditions, the canes themselves being easily damaged.
It is now common practice to grow tomatoes and cucumbers in a standard size growbag containing soil and nutrients. Supporting plants growing in growbags is problematic, as a bamboo cane either has to pierce the bag which can result in loss of soil and nutrients during repeated watering of the plant, or has to be inserted into the surrounding ground at a substantial angle, thus offering inadequate support.
Young trees, when planted, need to be supported to prevent damage from wind and to encourage substantially vertical growth. A stake inserted into the ground, and a flexible band wrapped around the trunk and secured to the stake is a commonly used method of supporting such trees. As the tree grows, the flexible band accommodates the increase in the trunk""s dimension. In order to provide increased support, commercial forestry organisations frequently use a plastic tube wrapped around the tree trunk and inserted into the ground. Whilst such plastic tubes provide good support in all radial directions, with the added benefit of protecting the sapling from damage by wild animals, they are impractical for domestic application. As the sapling grows, the tube will begin to constrain its growth and must be removed. The removal of such tubes involves cutting them free from the sapling, thus making incapable of reuse.
Large garden umbrellas or the like are usually supported by inserting the central umbrella pole through a central aperture formed in a garden table. The lower end of this pole is then inserted into container, via an aperture therein. The container is situated below the table and is usually filled with water or sand for added stability. However, in the absence of the table, this method of support is inadequate for supporting the considerable weight of an umbrella.
Commonly used methods for supporting a rotary clothes line comprise inserting a length of tube or a spike into the ground. In the case of concrete patios, this involves a permanent installation which can not be moved. In the case of inserting a tube or spike into a lawn, it is especially advantageous to be able to vary the position of the clothes line so that particular areas of the lawn do not get worn due to constant treading. Also, in wet weather, the ground becomes wet and muddy, resulting in the possibility of the installation working loose which is obviously disadvantageous.
Free standing supports for Christmas trees are available in many forms. However, for supporting a Christmas tree within a non-custom built receptable two methods are currently used; the trunk is surrounded by bricks or stones of if the receptacle is made of wood, the bottom of the trunk is nailed to the bottom of the receptacle and supported by two lengths of timber whose ends are nailed to the receptacle and on either side of the trunk. The first method does not secure the tree safely and the second, apart from being time consuming, requires some considerable skill with possible damage to the receptacle.
The present invention therefore seeks to provide an improved support device.
According to one aspect of this invention there is provided a support device for supporting at least one substantially vertical pole, said support device comprising a collar defining a central passage therethrough, said collar comprising at least two collar elements each element comprising a sector of said collar having a pair of substantially flat radially and longitudinally extending faces each engageable with the corresponding flat face of an adjacent collar element, the elements being associated with securing means comprising at least one tab projecting from each said flat face of each said collar element, the or each tab being engagable within a corresponding recess formed in each said corresponding flat face of an adjoining collar element to releasibly secure the said collar element together, and a plurality of legs communicating with said collar elements, the legs being adapted to support said collar with the central passage thereof substantially vertical, the collar being positioned above the lowermost ends of said legs.
Advantageously said collar is provided with at least one resiliently deformable element secured thereto, the or each resiliently deformable element having at least one surface adapted to be in contact with said pole to provide support to the pole whilst allowing limited movement of pole and to accommodate a small change in dimension of the pole.
Conveniently said collar is provided with a plurality of said resiliently deformable elements attached to the collar in an annular configuration, there being a radial cut therein to facilitate figment around said pole.
Preferably the support device comprises a plurality of said collars in a substantially horizontal array, to provide support to a plurality of substantially vertical poles.
Advantageously each collar is connected to at least one neighbouring collar via a connecting member.
Conveniently at least one additional collar is provided and is disposed above at least one of the or each collar.
Preferably the or each additional collar is connected to the collar immediately therebelow via a connecting member.
According to another aspect of this invention, there is provided a support device for supporting a substantially vertical pole, said support device comprising a frame structure carrying a plurality of radially inwardly biased supporting elements, each of said supporting elements being engageable with said pole to provide a support to the pole whilst accommodating a change in dimensions of the pole.
Preferably said frame structure comprises a collar defining a central passage therethrough and a plurality of legs, the legs being adapted to support said collar with the central passage thereof substantially vertical, the collar being positioned above the lowermost ends of said legs,
Advantageously each of said supporting elements comprises a radially extending elongate plunger slidably engaged within an aperture in the collar and within a radially aligned aperture in an annular element communicating with the said collar, each plunger having an outer end and an inner end, the inner end being engagable with said pole and being associated with a spring to bias the plunger inwardly.
Conveniently said spring is a helical spring positioned around said plunger, one and of said helical spring being attached to the inner end of said plunger, the other end being engaged with said collar.
Preferably at least the outer end of said plunger is threaded and threadedly engaged with a nut, the nut having an inwardly directed face engaged with said annular element.
According to a further aspect of this invention, there is provided a support device for supporting a substantially vertical pole having a lower end, the support device comprising a collar defining a central passage therethrough, a plurality of legs, the legs being adapted to support said collar with the central passage thereof substantially vertical, the collar being positioned above the lowermost ends of said legs, locating means to locate and engage the said pole substantially centrally within the said collar, and mounting means to mount said pole such that the lower end thereof is positioned above the lowermost ends of said legs.
Preferably said locating means comprises a plurality of radially extending locating elements, each of said locating elements having an inner end engageable with said pole.
Advantageously each of said locating elements comprises a threaded shaft for threaded engagement within a corresponding threaded aperture in said collar.
Conveniently said mounting means comprises a substantially horizontal plate positioned below said collar to engage the lower end of said pole.
Preferably height adjusting means are provided to adjust the vertical position of said mounting plate relative to the lowermost ends of said legs.
Advantageously said height adjusting means comprises a plurality of apertures, each aperture being associated with said mounting plate and adapted to slidably receive a portion of one of said legs, means provided to releasibly secure said leg portion within said aperture.
According to yet another aspect of this invention, there is provided a support device for supporting a substantially vertical pole within an open-topped receptacle which has at least one upwardly extending side wall, the device comprising a collar defining a central passage therethrough, and a plurality of legs, the legs being adapted to support said collar with the central passage thereof substantially vertical, the collar being positioned above the lowermost end of said legs, the collar being provided with spacing means to locate the support device within said receptacle. Preferably said spacing means comprise at least one radially outwardly extending arm, said arm being engageable with the or each side wall.
According to a still further aspect of this invention, there is provided a support device for supporting substantially vertical pole within an open-topped receptacle which has at least one upwardly extending side wall, the device comprising a collar defining central passage therethrough and a plurality of radially outwardly extending arms, each of said arms being provided with engaging means to securely engage the or each side wall to support said collar with the central passage thereof substantially vertical, the collar being positioned above the lowermost end of the receptacle.
Preferably said engaging means comprises a radially outwardly directed spike located at the outer end of each arm and adapted to engage and penetrate the or each side wall and prevent relative movement therebetween.
Conveniently said engaging means comprises a non-slip pad located at the outer end of each arm and adapted to engage the or each side wall and prevent relative movement therebetween.
Advantageously adjusting means are provided to adjust the length of the or each arm.
Conveniently said adjusting means comprises a substantially elongate first arm portion and a second threaded arm portion, said threaded arm portion being threadedly engageable within said elongate first arm portion.
Preferably locating means are provided to locate and engage the said pole substantially centrally within the said collar.
Advantageously said locating means comprises a plurality of radially extending threaded shafts, threadedly engageable with said collar.
Conveniently each of said threaded shafts is provided with biasing means to bias the threaded shaft inwardly.
Preferably said biasing means comprises a helical spring.
According to yet a farther aspect of this invention, there is provided a support device for supporting a substantially vertical pole within an open-topped receptacle having at least one upwardly extending wall, the device comprising a substantially elongate arm, means to secure said elongate arm to an upper edge of at least one of said side walls, and means provided on the arm to engage the pole.
Preferably said means to secure the arm to said upper edge comprises a pair of spaced-apart tongues each of which tongues is adapted to engage an opposite face of said wall at its upper edge, at least one of said tongues being provided with a threaded aperture therethrough, and a threaded screw within said aperture engageable with the at least one tongue to clamp the upper edge of said wall between said tongue.
Advantageously said means to engage the pole comprises a substantially vertically extending flat plate having a threaded aperture therethrough and a threaded screw, threadedly engageable with said flat plate, and engageable with said substantially vertical pole.